Three Wrasse Fish Species Found in the Laccadive Sea

GS Paper III Environment and Ecology

Context

Recently, A study Published in Journal Corals Reefs shows that Three fish species that live in the Laccadive Sea, are capable of using tools.

Wrasse Fish

Three New Wrasse Fish Species Spotted using tools:
- The Jansen’s wrasse (Thalassoma jansenii),
- The checkerboard wrasse (Halichoeres hortulanus)
- Moon wrasse (Thalassoma lunare).
These species used ‘live or dead coral structures’ as anvils to break the hard shells of sea urchins so they could get to the edible bits inside.
- Predators of Sea Urchins: All three species were recorded carrying the assay urchins to a nearby coral or benthic substrate and striking them repeatedly to break oﬀ their spines and crack their tests before consuming them.

Wrasse fish are small marine fishes, identified by their vivid and detailed colors, such as the moon and cuckoo wrasse.
Wrasse fish has a small mouth when compared to the size of the body & very strong teeth that tend to jut out of their thick lips.

They belong to a group of marine invertebrates called Echinodermata, which means spiny-skinned (Animals in this group are known as echinoderms & include sea cucumbers, sea lilies, brittle stars and starfish etc)
These are important herbivores on coral reefs, and in some ecosystems they play a critical role in maintaining the balance between coral and algae.

Wrasse Fish

Also Read: The Coral Fort Initiative

Must Read
NCERT Notes For UPSC	UPSC Daily Current Affairs
UPSC Blogs	UPSC Daily Editorials
Daily Current Affairs Quiz	Daily Main Answer Writing
UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers	UPSC Test Series 2024